Quantitative analysis of the causes of outbreaks in leaf-mining insects: application to the common leaf-miner Leucoptera malifoliella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) on apple tree
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30574/gscbps.2017.1.1.0008Keywords:
Leaf-mining moth, Leucoptera malifoliella, Malus, Mining impact, Leaf selectivity, MetapopulationAbstract
Leaf-mining by insects usually have limited detrimental consequences on host-trees. Yet, Leucoptera malifoliella, a common leaf-mining moth on Rosaceae, is among those leaf-mining species that can exhibit occasional, sometimes even regular eruptive impacts on their hosts, in particular on apple trees. Here, we address the different causes involved in a particular case of nascent outbreak of this moth observed in the wild that is independently of the artificial conditions that prevail in densely planted apple orchards. Relevantly analyzing the reasons of eruptive outbreaks remains difficult however, as multiple causes are involved and their respective influences on mining-impact level are largely intermingled. Thus, in order to disentangle the respective contributions of each cause in quantitative terms, a specifically dedicated approach, the “Melba” procedure, was implemented and applied to the data issued from an exhaustive sampling of the foliage of the studied wild apple-tree. Out of the three main causal components of mining impact level, neither the average clutch-size nor the severity of mated females in selecting those leaves acceptable for oviposition substantially differ from the ranges of values encountered in other leaf-mining species having high but non eruptive mining impacts on their respective hosts. In fact, the recorded nascent outbreak is mainly attributable to the unusually high density of mated females attracted to the investigated host tree. Accordingly, metapopulation effects obviously play a major role in triggering the recorded eruptive impact.
Metrics
References
Auerbach M, Connor EF and Mopper S. (1995). Minor miners and major miners: population dynamics of leaf-mining insects. In Population dynamics: new approaches and synthesis, Academic Press, San Diego, New-York. 83- 110.
Gripenberg S. (2007). Spatial ecology of a specialist insect herbivore - the leaf-mining moth Tischeria ekebladella on the pedunculate oak Quercus robur. PhD Thesis, Helsinki.
Tack AJM. (2010). Spatial ecology of an oak-associated herbivore community. PhD Thesis, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Béguinot J. (2011). Comparison of the severity of selection among beech leaves prior to egg-laying between a leaf-mining and two gall-inducing insects. European Journal of Entomology, 108, 71–78.
Béguinot J. (2012). Quantifying the gap between the actual incidence of leaf-mining or leaf-galling insects and the proportion of host-leaves potentially acceptable by them. Annales Societe Entomologique de France, 48 (1-2), 216-224.
Mopper S and Simberloff D. (1995). Differential herbivory in an oak poulation: the role of plant phenology and insect performance. Ecology, 76, 1233-1241.
Béguinot J. (2009). The remarkably low leaf-selectivity prior to oviposition in the moth-pest Cameraria ohridella is not unique to this species within the genus Cameraria. Revue d'Ecologie (Terre & Vie), 64, 333-341.
Béguinot J. (2009). Comparing the ratios of leaf-acceptance prior to egg-laying among several species of leaf-mining moths upon Quercus sp. pl. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae, Tischeriidae). Entomologia Generalis, 32 (2), 145-154.
Béguinot J. (2012). Would mothers relax their degree of selectivity for supports suitable for egg-laying when the local density of conspecific females increases? A case study with three common lepidopteran leaf-miners. ISRN Zoology, article ID 197615
Béguinot J. (2014). Would clutch-size decrease with higher local-density of mothers and/or lower quality of the host, in leaf-mining moths? A case study with three common lepidopteran leaf-miners. Revue d’Ecologie, 69(3), 258-266.
Béguinot J. (2015). Quantitative aspects of egg-laying behaviour contribute to the eruptive success of Cameraria ohridella parasiting horse-chestnuts. Journal of Biology and Nature, 2 (3), 106-110.
Cappuccino N. (1999). Oviposition behavior of insects use in the biological control of weeds. In proceedings of the X International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds 521, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA, 521-531.
CABI (2007). Invasive Species Compendium (http://www.cabi.org/isc/)
Sáringer G and Csontos A. (1998). Role of ecological factors (photoperiod, temperature and food plants) on the inception of diapause of Leucoptera malifoliella Costa (Lep., Lyonetiidae). Mededelingen-Faculteit Landbouwkundige en Toegepaste Biologische Wetenschappen, Universiteit Gent, 63(2), 397-399.
Gripenberg S, Salminen JP and Roslin T. (2007). A tree in the eyes of a moth – temporal variation in oak leaf quality and leaf-miner performance. Oikos, 116, 592–600.
Menken SBJ. (1996). Pattern and process in the evolution of insect-plant associations: Yponomeuta as an example. Entomologia Experimentaliset Applicata, 80, 297-305.
Singer MC and Parmesan, C. (1993). Sources of variations in patterns of insect-plant association. Nature, 361, 251-253.
Fordyce JA. (2005). Clutch size plasticity in the Lepidoptera. In Insects and Phenotypic Plasticity, Science Publishers, Inc. Enfield, NH, 125-144.
Delucchi VL. (1958). Lithocolletis messaniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): analysis of some mortality factors with particular reference to its parasite complex. Entomophaga, 3, 203-270.
Auerbach M. (1991). Relative impact of interactions within and between trophic levels during an insect outbreak. Ecology, 72, 1599-1608.
Gripenberg S and Roslin T. (2005). Host plants as islands: resource quality and spatial setting as determinant of insect distribution. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 42, 335-345.
Ellis WN. (2008). Nederlandse bladmineerders/Dutch leafminers. URL http://www.bladmineerders.nl
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.